A frightening moment occurred in the top of the sixth inning during the Mets-Phillies matchup at Citi Field on Thursday night. A weak grounder to first base led to a collision between pitcher Nolan McLean and first baseman Jared Young. The incident happened after miscommunication during the play, resulting in an ugly and alarming collision. McLean’s knee struck Young in the head as both players converged on a slow grounder hit by Justin Crawford.
Young had played in twenty-two games for the Cubs during the 2022-23 seasons, according to CBS Sports. He split time between South Korea’s KBO and Triple-A in 2024 before signing with the Mets in December of that year. Young had success in Triple-A and made a brief appearance in the major leagues during his first season with the Mets. He entered Thursday hitting .266 with seventeen doubles, nine home runs, thirty-nine RBI, and forty-six runs in three hundred forty-two plate appearances. His .429 figure was his slugging percentage rather than his batting average.
With Pete Alonso leaving in free agency and Jorge Polanco spending most of the year on the injured list, Young found himself getting regular playing time. Young has been one of the pleasant surprises for the Mets this season despite an otherwise disappointing campaign. The Mets’ roster was revamped by President of Baseball Operations David Stearns after a poor finish. The team suffered a twelve-game losing streak in April. Carlos Mendoza was fired on June 26 with the Mets at 34-47 and Andy Green was named interim manager. By July 4, the Mets had fallen to 36-53.
Interim manager Andy Green is expected to return to the front office next year, and the Mets will once again try to fix their roster over the winter. Mets owner Steve Cohen has said Green would still be considered for the permanent manager job if he wants it.
Jared Young was carted off the field in the top of the sixth inning Thursday night after a collision with his pitcher, according to a report from Yahoo Sports. He gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was taken away on a stretcher. Young lay in the infield dirt for several minutes while teammates gathered around him and members of both dugouts looked on. Interim manager Andy Green and the Mets training staff attended to him before he was transported off the field. The Mets said Young had feeling in his extremities and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
Young was knocked unconscious during the collision. A CT scan later came back negative, but he continued to show concussion symptoms. Green described the incident as frightening while saying the medical updates were encouraging.
This injury is a tough setback for Young, who has been one of the more unexpected success stories on the Mets’ roster this season. A 15th-round pick by the Cubs in 2017 from Old Dominion, Young bounced through Chicago’s system before a brief appearance in the major leagues during 2022-23. He signed a Major League contract with the Mets in December 2024 and spent most of 2025 in the minors while receiving several brief call-ups.
Young made the Mets’ 2026 Opening Day roster in part because Mike Tauchman suffered a knee injury. He tore the meniscus in his left knee in mid-April and underwent surgery, missing about six weeks of play. Young posted a 1.018 OPS over his first nine games back and continued to improve his role on the team. Jorge Polanco’s ankle problems also created more playing time for Young.
The Phillies went on to win Thursday’s game 3-0. Young was 0-for-2 before leaving the game and was hitting .266 with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 103 games.
IMAGE: Jared Young Iowa Cubs 2002 Minda Haas Kuhlmann CC2